


Just One Thing

by ellegreenaways



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, I suck at writing, anyway, in my opinion, this is how 309 should go, this took so long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 15:49:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21460549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellegreenaways/pseuds/ellegreenaways
Summary: Anne tried to stop gilbert from proposing to Winnie, while Gilbert rethinks the huge step he’d be taking.How i think 309 should go.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry I suck at writing in advance. Just a lil snippet of how i think 309 should play out.

“I’m in love with Gilbert Blythe.”

The words tumbled out of Anne’s mouth before she could even stop to think about it. She turned to Diana, who sat up next to her, grinning.

“Congratulations, Anne. You are, officially, the last to know.”

“You knew?”

“Oh please. You’d have to be blind to not see the tension between you two.”

Anne bit her lip, staring at her curtains that swayed with the breeze. “I think made a huge mistake, Diana. How do I fix it?”

Diana’s dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What did you do?”

“Last night, when we had all been elebrating. He came back.”

“Of course, I remember that. You were talking about something.” 

Anne swallowed and took a deep breath. “He told me about Winnie, and what her father had offered him. A chance of a lifetime to study at the Sorbonne in Paris, but he seemed so conflicted. I asked him what was holding him back from going, and he said that there was one thing.”

“You?”

“To be fair, he didn’t say it, so much implied it. But even in my drunken state, I could figure out as much.”

Diana tilted her head, staring at her for a moment. “Anne, I don’t see what the problem is. He likes you, you like him. What’s the issue?”

“Well...” she paused, unsure of how she should continue. “I think, I-um-I may have told him to propose to Winnie. I just, I was scared. I didn’t know what to do and the words just started falling out of my mouth before I could even make a decision. And then you took me away, and he left.”

“You need to tell him. Before he proposes to Winnie. He was willing to give up Paris for you, Anne. You’re not going to stumble upon someone like that everyday.”

Anne thought about it for a moment. Diana was right, of course. She usually was. “But I don’t want to stand in the way of his dreams. If I tell him, and he stays, I’m terrified he’ll hate me forever.”

“He won’t, trust me. If he’s willing to leave it all behind for you, it was never something he truly considered as an option. And if I know you at all, I know you’ll regret it if you never get the chance to say what you need to.”

“Why must you always be right, Diana.”

The dark haired girl smiled, holding out a hand to help Anne into the standing position. “It’s a gift. Now go!”

She didn’t bother changing her clothes from the night before. She forgot to braid her hair in her haste, and so it flew behind her in a fiery blaze as she raced towards the Blythe residence.

It didn’t take long for her to reach the old house in the farm. She raced up to the front door, breathing heavily from the run she’d made from Green Gables. A unfamiliar woman answered the door, much to her surprise.

“Hello miss.” The woman spoke clearly, and sharply. “How may I help you?”

“Oh, hello! Please, call me Anne. Anne with an e. I was wondering if you had seen Gilbert. Gilbert Blythe, anywhere? There’s something I’d like to speak with him about. It’s, um, about school.”

“My apologies Miss, but Mr. Blythe left not so long ago.”

“Do you know where he was headed?”

“Charlottetown,” a familiar voice interrupted from behind the woman. Anne looked into the house, locking eyes with Bash.

“Charlottetown?” She repeated, feeling her shoulders slouch at the name. Charlottetown was where Winnie was. She was too late. “Oh.”

“You can take the horse, if you’d like. You can still catch him if you hurry.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything.”

“I assure you, that whatever you and Gilbert have to work out is more important than what I need right now.”

Anne, stared at him for a moment, puzzled by his words. He couldn’t have known. Could he? Had Gilbert told him? She shook her head, pushing the thought out of her mind.

“Thank you!” She smiled. “I promise to bring her back, safe and sound.”

* * *

  
She almost made it to the station. She had been a quarter of a mile away. She would have just gotten there before the train left, but what she saw ahead on the trail was enough to make her come to a quick halt. A face that she’d come to be so familiar with stood before her, staring at her in the morning fog.

“Ka’kwet? What are you doing-“ she stopped. An audible gasp escaped her lips when she noticed her long hair had been chopped off, and her colorful clothing belonging to her tribe, had been replaced by a dress so drab and dull, she wasn’t even sure what color it was.

“You have to help,” Ka’kwet said, running towards her, collapsing in Anne’s arms, tears running down her cheeks.

“I don’t understand. What happened.”

“The school. It’s nothing like they said it would be. They hurt us. Cut our hair and changed our names. Took away everything that I was.”

Anne, for the first time, was completely speechless. When she opened her mouth to talk, the words faltered at her lips, and were replaced with silence. 

“You have to help me. Please.”

The choice was clear. There was no other option, then to follow Ka’kwet. She had, after all encouraged her to go to the school in the first place. It was partially her fault for the mess that her friend had found herself mixed up in. Anne stared down the path, hearing the train whistle in the distance.

“Goodbye, Gil,” she whispered, holding Ka’kwet tighter in her arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Gilbert gazed out the window of the train, watching the trees rush past in a blur. Alone. The ring he carried felt heavy in his pocket, but he tried to ignore the feeling of regret that dangled over his head. 

Just a few week ago he’d been in the very seat he sat in now, but instead of the empty chair that lay in front of him, a bright, red haired girl had been there. 

He sigh, pulling out the old ring and staring at it as the sunlight glared down on him from through the window. Even as he was already on the train to Charlottetown, he couldn’t stop the feeling of hesitation. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Winnie. He did. But as he sat alone, thinking of the long red braids, and the smile that lit up ever corner of the room, he was beginning to realize that perhaps, it wasn’t in that way. 

He never meant for it to go this far. He thought that meeting with Winnie a few times a month would be nothing more than two friends sharing lunch. Marriage had never even crossed his mind. And then all of a sudden, there he was meeting her parents and talking about their future. Together. Paris. The Sorbonne. 

The train stopped moving, and Gilbert spotted the Charlottetown sign that hung off the roof, looming over him like a dark storm cloud. This decision would shape the rest of his life. This would determine his future, and whether he belonged in Avonlea, or in Paris, with Winnie. 

At the exit of the building, he could see Winnie and her parents, awaiting his arrival. Instead of the excitement he should have been feeling, he couldn’t stop the dread that crept up through his body. 

Winnie smiled, as he approached the family, tentatively as thought it was his first time meeting them. 

“Mr. Blythe, lovely to see you again.”

Gilbert nodded, unable to find words to speak. 

“It’s always a pleasure to have you,” her father continued. “We were just talking about Paris. You’ll love it there. The Sorbonne is exquisite, but the city itself is just astoundingly beautiful.”

“Father,” Winnie said, a smile breaking through, despite the annoyance evident in her voice. “I do believe it’s time we get going.”  


* * *

The drive back to their home was anything but quiet. They continued to ramble on about the city in France. Gilbert occasionally heard the words, “the Louvre” or “Eiffel tower” mentioned, but he was only half listening.

Quite frankly, he was terrified. Everything had happened faster then he’d been able to process it all. The pressure of choosing what to do made his head swim. 

“Are you alright, Gilbert?” Winnie’s voice broke through his thoughts. “You’re looking a bit pale.”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly. “Just...thinking.”

“Are you sure? We could go fetch Doctor Ward before we go home if you’re feeling unwell. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind-“

“No really, I promise. I’m okay.”

She stared at him unconvincingly, but didn’t press further, much to his relief. A wave of guilt rushed over him, as he watched her look away. She was genuinely a wonderful girl. He enjoyed spending time with her, but this, the whole situation, just didn’t feel–right.

The buggy stopped, and he stepped out, turning to help Winifred.

“We’ll leave you two to some privacy,” her father said, taking his wife’s hand.

“I don’t really think that’s nece-“

“Of course it is. I’m sure you have much to discuss without our being there.”

Before Gilbert to say another word, they were already walking toward the lard house that stood in front of them.

“Much to discuss?” Winnie asked, looking at him thoughtfully.

Gilbert swallowed, nervousness filling his body. “I don’t know how to say this, and I don’t expect you to forgive me for anything. I don’t even think I deserve that after what I’m about to do.”

Winnie looked puzzled, furrowing her eyebrows. “I’m not sure I understand, Gilbert.”

His jaw tightened. “I’m supposed to ask...or, um...I’m supposed to propose to you. The talk that I had with your father that one day, that’s what that was about. He offered me Paris, an opportunity of a lifetime. My whole future on a silver platter. All relying on this one question that I’m supposed to ask.”

“But...you don’t want that, do you?”

“I thought I did. But, now I’m not so sure.”

“What’s holding you back?”

He bit his lip, unsure of what to say. “I don’t-“

“Don’t tell me you don’t know,” Winnie said, an expression painting her face that he couldn’t even begin to understand. “The Sorbonne is on of the finest institutions to attend, Gilbert. If you’re hesitant to go, the reason you have must be very important to you.”

Gilbert looked down, trying to avoid eye contact with the woman who stood before him. “I just-I don’t think I could do that to Bash, and Delphie. I promised to help him, that we were partners, and to leave him like that wouldn’t be very...respectful.”

She shook her head, hiding what looked like a smile. “That’s not it, but I think I know what it is.”

“It’s not you, I promise,” he said, regret seeping into his face. “It’s just...”

He shook his head, unable to find the right words. “My m-friend, Mary. She told me to marry for love. And only, for love. And I don’t–“

“–love me in that way?”

“I’m sorry, Winnie. You don’t deserve this. I used you, and there’s no excuse for that. I don’t even know how to begin to tell you how sorry I am.”

Instead of slapping him, which he wholly expected from her, she just looked away. “You don’t need to apologize, Gilbert. And if I’m being truthful, I’ve known that this wouldn’t last for quite some time.”

“You did?”

“I saw the way you ran after her. The day of the fair. I saw how much you cared, and the way you looked at her.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

She sighed. “Because, my father has been trying to find me a suited for a long time. I’ve turned down every one he set me up with.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

“Because, I guess, I was using you too. Why do you think I was working for Doctor Ward, Gilbert? I wanted to go to school, to become a doctor. But my father wouldn’t let me go. He said the only way I could apply for the Sorbonne was if I found a suitor to bring me.”

“And that was...” Realization dawned on him, as he put the pieces together.

“You.”

“I guess we both made a complete mess of this situation, huh?” He asked, allowing a small smile to escape his lips. 

“Yeah, I suppose we did.”

“Look, I’m sorry for everything. I feel like I wasted your time, and led you on. It was so wrong for me to do that.”

“I should be the one apologizing. I should have told you then and there, but I was afraid. I didn’t want to lose the only chance I had. I was being selfish, and I kept you from someone you really cared about.”

“It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t like me in that way. I asked her if she thought there was a chance for us, and she said no.”

“Did she actually say no?”

“Well, not exactly-“

“Mr. Blythe, I don’t believe someone of your intellect could be so, oblivious.”

“What do you mean?”

She laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “She likes you, Gilbert. You’d have to be blind to not see what you two have.”

“What-“

“I’m saying, you need to go to her.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“What about your father. What you want?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll figure something out. Just go!”

“Okay okay.”

He turned to leave, but stopped abruptly. He threw his arms around the girl, hugging her tightly. “Thank you, Winnie.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bam, trash.
> 
> Sorry this was rushed and is garbage, i had to get it out before the episode aired lmao.
> 
> I love winnie, and I wanted to give her an actual character background, so uhm, here it is...?
> 
> It’s horrible i know, I’m not great at writing but i hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> This took an agonizing amount of time to write and it still turned out like absolute horse shit. I should honestly stick to drawing. 
> 
> The second part will be up either later today or early tomorrow, sometimes before the episode airs. I just have writers block and I’m in a pickle so bear with me.
> 
> Anyway, I really want the decision for Gilbert to choose Anne, to be of his own making. I don’t want him to propose to Winnie because I think she deserves better than that, and I don’t think Gilbert is the type to use someone like that. 
> 
> It would be so much more powerful for him to realize that this is not the right decision, rather than someone having to explain to him that it’s not. 
> 
> Y’all gotta give gilbert a break. He’s being pressured into making this huge life changing decision, and he’s so confused and terrified. Like this boy may be “romantic” as Ruby puts it, but it’s evident he has some underlying insecurities, or he wouldn’t be so absolutely scared shitless of rejection. And this boy is clearly terrified of rejection. He’s still, honestly, just a kid. 
> 
> Remember how he said he wasn’t thinking about marriage or marrying Winnie in one of the past episodes? He’s not ready for it. I definitely feel like Winnie’s parents are pressuring him to do it. It’s what they expect from him, and their offer is their way of telling him, listen, time is ticking and you have to make a decision now because we’re not going to wait forever. 
> 
> I think he saw Winnie as a good friend and listener. Someone he could talk to without being interrupted, and who he could confide in, knowing she wouldn’t tell anyone. But i don’t think he ever saw her as a romantic interest. I think he was confusing love with attraction. 
> 
> And what Mary said is definitely going to come into play. They wouldn’t emphasize that for absolutely nothing.
> 
> That’s all. That’s my prediction. Part 2 will be published later, so enjoy!


End file.
